1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic component insertion equipment and particularly to a feed mechanism for insertion of components having a body and dual in-line parallel leads extending therefrom, especially those with two or four leads.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Insertion machines for dual in-line electronic components have generally provided equipment that is reciprocated between a first position where the component is received and a second position where the component is inserted into a circuit board. Examples of such equipment is the U.S. Pat. No. 3,545,064 issued to Albert W. Zemak et al on Dec. 8, 1970, entitled Variable Size Module Sequence and Insertion Apparatus. Equipment which utilizes fingers to move the components from a supply to an insertion position is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,180 issued to Mark V. Pierson, on June 21, 1977, entitled Longitudinally Fed Component Insertion Apparatus. With such equipment, each head assigns a particular type of dual in-line component. When two or four lead components are used, channels on one side of the machine are supplied with these components while those on the other side are supplied with larger ones. A shuttle is used to transport the components from a selected channel to the insertion head as the user's program dictates.
Components that are used with insertion machines are usually supplied to the industry in hollow plastic sticks which are placed into a receiver on the device. Such sticks are not loaded directly in the vertical position because the components frequently topple before dropping into the receiver. To prevent this problem, the receiver is swiveled forward into a horizontal position, a stick of components is loaded and a ram rod is used to push them to the bottom before it is swiveled back to the vertical. The use of a ram rod is cumbersome and the components sometime topple in spite of care on the part of the operator. Also the components can snag within the stick especially when it is being moved from the horizontal to the vertical.